By analyzing the meaning of the word εìκών and
its semantic cognates, Stefanie Lorenzen reveals the mental concept of the
likeness of man to God in the Wisdom of Solomon, the texts of Philo of Alexandria
and the Pauline homologoumena. The comparison shows for the first time that
Paul's concept differs from Jewish-Alexandrian ideas, since it also includes
the human body. While the Jewish-Alexandrian texts draw men in the image
of God as a perfect spiritual response to a spiritual mediator (e.g. logos
or sophia), for Paul the body is a medium of the Christ event and thus an
essential part of the likeness of man to God or Christ.